Rack for musical instruments



(No Model.)

w. A. NAUMANN.

RACK FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

No. 520,214. Patented May 22, 1894.

6 I WlfNEbSEb: I ,INVENTOR I BY' auxm A TTORNEYN bodying my invention.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM A. NAUMANN, OF BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

RACK FOR MUSICAL INSTRUMENTS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 520,214, dated May 22, 1894.

Application filed July 18,1893. Serial No. 480,869. (No model.)

T0 at whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, WILLIAM A. NAUMANN, a citizen of the United States, and a resident of the city of Brooklymcounty of Kings, State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Racks for Musical Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to racks forsuspending musical instruments, the object being to provide means wherebya number of such instruments, either of similar or various kinds, may be quickly and readily attached thereto, and may also be hung side by side without danger of breaking or knocking together, the invention being more particularly applicable to stringed instruments, such as the banjo, guitar, mandolin, violin, and those of like construction.

Heretofore it has been the custom of those owning or dealing in such instruments, to

stand them when not in use, in one corner of the room or store, to lay them uponacounter or showcase, or at best to tie loops of twine or wire around them, and suspend them from nails driven into the walls. By the use of my invention however, these methods of disposition are rendered unnecessary, and not only are the instruments kept out of the way of chance injuries and harm, but great economy of space is efiected besides, which is particularly desirable for show windows and display cases.

In the accompanying drawings, in which like letters of reference indicate similar parts, Figure 1 is a perspective View of a rack em- Fig. 2 is a sectional view, on the line :c.'r, of one of thehooks, formingpart of the device, showing the method of fastening it to the body of the rack.

The invention consists principally of a plurality of straight or curved hooks, A, B, O, D, E and F, secured to a strip of board, G, or so formed as to be capable of individually being secured to the wall or side of a store or room, and bent at the ends to form horizontal arms a, b, c, d, e, and f, which engage with the pegs or tightening keys of the musical instruments to be hung thereon.

The mode of attaching the instrument to the hook is to place the same at right angles to the shank, with one or more of the pegs directly above and resting thereon, and then slide the instrument forward until the peg is directly under the arm, when the instrument hangs perpendicularly downward. The straight hooks, such as B and D, are more particularly adapted for such instruments as the banjo, or guitar which are better capable of being suspended by one peg. For other instruments, however, it is desirable to modify the device in order to more properly and safely suspend them. The hook A, for instance, which is adapted for an instrument such as the mandolin, has two shanks, bent at the stock to extend about two inches apart, and each provided with arms similar to those on the books before described, the said arms engaging a peg on each side of the mandolin, which hangs between them. When, as in the case of a violin, the instrument is provided with pegs on each side, but not directly opposite each other, one being lower than the other, the hook should, like the hookO in the drawings, comprise two shanks, one being bent angularly as shown at O in order to raise the said hook suificiently higher than the adjoining one, to correspond with the difference in height of the pegs on the instrument for which the hook is intended to be used. The hook C also illustrates an improvement in the device, which consists in elongating the shank, and securing thereto, or forming thereon, at the center, a collarg,wherebytwo ormore instruments maybe hungon the same hook, the collar serving to separate them. Economy of space may also be efiected by bending the shanks downwardly or horizontally, thus changing the direction of the ends, and consequently the position of the instruments, when hanging. An example of this is shown in E and F, the first being bent downward from the center for the rest of its length, and the second bent downward, and then at right angles. By the use of these hooks in the arrangement shown in the drawings considerable saving of space is efiected. The hooks may be secured to the strip Gby any desired means, but I prefer to make them as shown, by permanently attaching to each a base piece H which may be screwed either to the strip, or to the wall of the store or room.

I do not confine myself to the exact forms herein set forth, as the same may and should at its extreme end with an upwardly bent parallel arm, whereby a violin or similar instrument whose tuning pegs are irregularly opposite one to the other may be suspended therefrom, substantially as shown and described.

In testimony that I claim the foregoing as my invention I have signed my name, in presence of two witnesses, this 29th day of J une,

WILLIAM A. NAUMANN. Witnesses:

PERCY T. GRIFFITH, JOHN M. DUMER. 

